Chaotic Ultimatum
by Feregoth
Summary: This takes place during AW2. Sturm is pulling out all the stops, and War World's forces must band together to stop him one last time. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue: Black Hole Returns

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Prologue:

"I'm sorry Sturm sir! I won't fail again! Please have mercy!"

"Mercy is for those who've proven their worth Flak. You've failed in this as well. Black Hole lost a very easy win today because of you. Why didn't you use your CO power?"

"I was waiting until the enemy advanced! I didn't know about the bombers until they were upon us!"

"And that is a mistake you won't live to make again Flak. Goodbye."

"NO! Please sir! AAAGH!" Flak cried out as he was decimated in an instant. Adder watched from the entrance as Flak disappeared, a mild look of amusement on his face.

"Does death amuse you Adder? You think you're unbeatable, but you could join Flak at any time if you don't fulfill your duties."

"Oh no sir, it's just that I feel privileged to be able to see you using your CO power."

"Don't be stupid Adder. You know that wasn't my CO power. I wouldn't waste that on such a minor annoyance. As for the rest of you, I haven't destroyed any of you because you have more to you than muscle. Flak was foolish, but you Adder are of enough value that I can stand your failures a tad more. Orange Star is a powerful opponent."

"We won't fail again sir. Lash thinks she has a new attack plan that will-"

"Silence! I've heard it before Adder, and this is why I've decided to take more drastic measures. I always hoped my CO's could handle themselves, but it seems I'll have to step in. All of you will be working together. You will follow my orders and position yourselves as I direct you. This plan is foolproof, as long as my CO's are to be trusted with such an important task. So can I trust all of you?" Lash and Hawke walked up to join Adder.

"Yes sir, it'll be easy!" said Lash, a smirk across her face.

"They cannot win." said Adder, smugly ready to beat Orange Star.

"We will win for Black Hole sir. I will see to it personally." said Hawke, gazing at what remained of the platform Flak had been on.

"For you're sakes you'd better Hawke. If we can capture Orange Star, there will be no-one left to stop us!


	2. Chapter 1:Recon Duty

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 1: Recon Duty

Grit was bored. Ever since Black Hole had pulled back he had been happy that the war was over for now, but Olaf seemed sure that they would return. Paranoid as ever, he kept Grit on recon duty, watching the ocean every day. Why was it his job to do this? Grit was discontented with having to get up early each day to sit in a base on the coastal peaks, watching for the Black Hole army.

"I can understand Olaf's worries. We never did find out what happened after that Flak character fled out of Orange Star's land, but why is it my job to do these things? I'm a master of long range weaponry, not a master o' recon." Grit sighed and looked at the sun rising over the mountains. "I suppose I shouldn't be feelin' sorry for myself though. He may have me sit here all day looking for nothin', but he has Colin scalin' the country all day, checkin' to make sure there's no Black Hole slime in it. Poor boy, he admires Olaf so much he doesn't argue with even the most outrageous orders." Grit sighed and thought about taking a nap. "If Olaf is really so worried about Black Hole, then I wonder why he isn't doin' anything but makin' us do his work."

"Oh really Grit? You think I'm being lazy?" Grit jumped in surprise as Olaf's face appeared on the huge screen to his left. "I've been gathering all the Intel I can on Black Hole from Orange Star. Not that I needed their help, but the important thing is that I've been working hard, while you sit here and nap while you should be watching for enemy forces!"

"Easy my bearded leader, how am I supposed to know what you're doin'?"

"That's just it; you aren't, unless I feel like telling you!" Grit rolled his eyes.

"Olaf, I just don't understand you. Black Hole isn't goin' to jump on us. If they come we'll see 'em, even if we don't have recon units and towers and bases all along this coast."

"Grit you slacker! Don't question my methods! I am your leader, and I know what I'm do-" Suddenly a red light started flashing, and an alarm sounded.

"Well I'll be, it seems you were right for once Olaf. Even if it isn't Black Hole, somethin' sure snuck up on us pretty darn quick! Lemme' see what we got here." Grit looked through the binoculars, peering at the sea, and there, right on the horizon, was a black ship. As it got nearer Grit saw there there was more than one. Hundreds of ships were sailing across the sea, and that wasn't all. Grit saw copters. And then bombers and jets. And transport ships. The entire Black Hole army was coming.

"Olaf, we have a situation! The Black Hole is approachin'! This is the biggest army of them I've seen in all my time as a CO!"

"I was afraid this would happen. I'll contact Colin and tell him to move his troops toward the coast."

"No, wait Olaf." Grit looked through the binoculars again. "They aren't comin' toward us directly. They're movin' farther West…Olaf, they're goin' toward…Orange Star. Olaf, you don't have the right communication tech with you to warn Nell and the others, but I do. If they capture Orange Star, we're next. You contact the boy and tell 'im to move towards Orange Star, I'll contact Nell and tell her what's goin' on."

"Grit…oh never mind, you're right. Contact Nell and Colin and I will move towards Orange Star. You contact them and then follow us as soon as you…Grit, look out!" Grit turned to see one bomber flying straight toward the base.

"Oh no…I have to hurry." Before Olaf could respond, the signal was broken. Grit ran over to the console and began contacting Orange Star.

"This is Nell. Is that you Grit? What is it?"

"There's no time Nell. Black Hole is back again, the entire army is movin' toward Orange Star. You have to prepare yourselves! Colin and Olaf are movin' along the land route to aid you. Send a distress signal to Yellow Comet and Green Earth soon as you can! Goodbye Nell." Once again Grit ended the transmission before a response. The screen flashed back on.

"Grit! What are you doing? Get out of there now!" Grit turned to the window to see the bomber almost upon him. Grinning slightly he turned back to Olaf.

"Olaf…it's been an honor bein' a CO under your command. You've been harsh at times….but a good commander. Goodbye sir."

"Grit no! you still have time!" The bombs dropped, and Grit smiled weakly one last time as they hit the base. "GRIT!" There was an explosion, and static. Olaf looked down at his feet, as he realized how hard a worker Grit had been. He'd always seemed lazy, but his skills had saved them many times, and he cared about human life more than any of them. Slowly, Olaf looked up at the flickering screen and saluted.


	3. Chapter 2: Nell's Report

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 2: Nell's Report

"Hey Max! Can you get me that wrench over there?" Andy was giving tune-ups to Orange Star's vehicles… again. Andy always did this every couple of days, making sure everything was in top condition before it was sent to war again. Max didn't know how he could stand it.

"Andy, seriously, why do you bother? It isn't like it's your job to do this; after all, Orange Star has maintenance workers to repair everything. Why not relax for a while?"

"Because, I love doing this. It's like my hobby." said Andy, rolling out from under a tank with no treads to get the wrench himself. Sami smirked from atop the tank.

"Besides Max, do you really think all of those highly trained workers could compete with Andy? He's a master at this, I'm sure he could teach THEM a few things." Sami jumped down from her perch, smiling at Andy. Andy blushed slightly.

"Uh, yeah, maybe…" Andy picked up the wrench and was about to slide back under the tank, when Nell came rushing in.

"Oh, hi Nell. What's up? You look worried." Nell was sweating like she had run the whole way.

"I AM worried Max. I just got a message from Blue Moon." Sami stopped smiling. When it came to important matters, she didn't fool around.

"Blue Moon? What did they want Nell?"

"Grit contacted me telling me that Black Hole is coming! Before I could respond though, the signal was broken."

"Another battle coming up huh? I'll take this one, Andy took the last battle and Sami took the one before that. I don't want my CO skills getting rusty." Max flexed playfully, making Andy laugh, and Sami look a little annoyed.

"Max, why don't we wait until Nell gives us the Intel before we start acting tough?" Max looked embarrassed and stopped flexing, and Andy stopped laughing.

"Sorry, just fooling around. Anyway, go on Nell." The worried look had not left her face.

"This is the biggest grouping imaginable you three. Grit told me he thinks it's the entire Black Hole army. Olaf and Colin will be coming to help us out, but until then, we have to prepare." Andy dropped his wrench. The… entire army? But…I've heard stories, but…it can't really be that big can it?"

"Oh yes it can Andy. I have a feeling those stories you heard actually undermined its full power too. Orange Star will be facing its greatest threat ever. Grit told me that I should contact Yellow Comet and Green Earth as well, so I think that, even with Blue Moon's assistance, this will be a force too great for us to handle." Nell looked at the floor.

"Oh crud… this is gonna' be bad then." Max looked at Andy and Sami, a look of utter concentration in his eyes.

"Well then," said Andy, stepping forward. "We'll just have to work together. We separate only when we absolutely have to, but otherwise we stay together, and fight this force head on, together." The others were surprised, and Sami was impressed, because it seemed like a thing she would have said.

"…Well said Andy." Said Nell, smiling a little. "I'll get to contacting our allies right away. Come on."

The others followed Nell. Sami fell behind with Andy.

"That was an impressive speech. I'll quote Nell on this one, "well said"." She smiled and caught up with Nell and Max. Andy blushed again and felt a fierce pride over such a little thing. He ran to catch up with the others. As they reached the control room, the monitor switched on, and Olaf's face appeared.

"Nell! Did you get Grit's message?"

"Oh Olaf. Yes I did, don't worry. What happened to Grit? The transmission was broken." Olaf looked sad.

"Grit… was urgent to get you that message because a bomber of Black Hole was coming straight for him. He… didn't make it out in time…" Olaf almost had a tear in his eye…almost. Nell was silent for a few seconds.

"Oh my god… you mean he's…" Olaf regained his composure and looked at Nell.

"Just making sure you got the message. Contact the others immediately. Colin and I are headed your way. I just stopped at a base on the way to check in with you. Goodbye." The screen went blank. Nell turned to face the others, who had all heard the news. She was very unhappy, but with fresh realization of the situation, Nell turned back to the console and began contacting Yellow Comet.


	4. Chapter 3: The Emperor's Daughter

Sorry about the update delay. My internet was down. Anyway, here you go.

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 3: The Emperor's Daughter.

This time of day was always relaxing to Sonja. She liked to watch the clouds float by, as afternoon wind blew through her hair and across the fields, making the grass ripple. Sonja liked computers, and wasn't an absolute lover of the outdoors, but it was nice to be out in the breeze once in a while. It also didn't faze her being outside during combat. She was always too engrossed in getting Intel and strategically protecting her country to be bothered by the outside. Speaking of combat, Sonja wondered what would happen next, now that Black Hole had pulled back. It had been quiet in their absence, and peace was beginning to spread again, as it always did when Black Hole was driven out of its hole in Yellow Comet's good land, but for how long this time?

"Maybe it's finally over. If it is, then Yellow Comet can finally be at peace and direct its attention to other matters."

Sonja considered visiting Sensei. Ever since the Black Hole had been beaten out of Yellow Comet again, he had returned to his quiet home in the hills overlooking the nearby city. She liked talking with him, and hearing his stories about his old days as a paratrooper, and old battles, when he used to be known as a CO of unstoppable power. It also seemed like he liked telling these stories, even though he would rather have sat down by a fire any day than return to commanding air forces against Yellow Comet's enemies.

"I'll go tell father I'm visiting Sensei." Sonja walked into the base and down the long hallway to the control room, happy that she now had time for such things, but unknown to her, she didn't.

"Father, I just wanted to let you know I'm-"

"Quiet Sonja!" Sonja saw that her father was at in contact with someone, and she fell silent. "Yes, of course Nell. You've assisted us before, so it's only fair for us to do the same. Count on our forces to come to your aid."

"Thank you Kanbei. This will be a big battle, and we need all the assistance you can spare us. Goodbye!" Nell was gone.

"Father, you were talking to Nell? What's this about a big battle?"

"Sonja, we will be going to Orange Star to help fight Black Hole. It seems the army is massive this time, and they cannot do it alone. Pack up; we must leave in 3 days." Sonja stood silently for a moment.

"Father…"

"Yes Sonja?"

"Well…if Black Hole is this powerful now, we'll need proper intel if we ever hope to defeat them. If you will be ready in 3 days, then I should leave tomorrow." Kanbei looked up immediately.

"Absolutely not Sonja! I won't allow you to be put in danger if I'm not there to protect you!"

"Father, I'm not a child! I'm a CO of Yellow Comet, and it's my duty to do what I can for our country. My Intel is never wrong, and if we will be going to war again, you'll need it!"

"But…Sonja…you must understand that I can't let you go alone."

"Then she won't go alone. I'll accompany her." Kanbei turned to the doorway to see Sensei walking in. "The girl is right Kanbei; we will need her Intel if we are to win. She is old enough to do this herself, but if you really feel she needs someone with her, I will go. It will be faster traveling with my transport copters anyway, and you can still focus on preparations to go." Kanbei was not pleased at all.

"But Sensei…"

"Father, stop it." Kanbei looked at his daughter. "I can do this. I'll be fine. Please trust me, or at least trust that Sensei can help protect me in your absence." Kanbei saw he was beaten. He sighed.

"Alright Sonja, I will allow you to go under Sensei's protection. Just promise me something."

"Yes father?" Kanbei looked hard at her.

"This will be our biggest and most dangerous challenge yet. Swear to me, as a CO of Yellow Comet, and more importantly, as my daughter, that you will take the utmost care of yourself. Return home to me safely." Sonja looked back at her father, and smiled.

"Yes Father, of course I will. Thank you." Kanbei sighed again, turned to switch on the intercom system, and began arranging for copters on an intel mission. Sonja turned to Sensei, grinning. "Thank you Sensei. He never would have agreed if you hadn't stepped in." Sensei grinned back.

"I may be old, but your father still respects me as the CO I am. He knows I can protect you when he is unable to. Not that I plan to hinder you with my "protection". I intend to escort you as I promised, but you won't need me taking care of you Sonja. You are a young woman, not a little girl, and you have everything needed for the future Empress of Yellow Comet. Go prepare for the trip. We leave at dawn."

"Yes Sir!" said Sonja, running back out the door, a look of readiness on her face.


	5. Chapter 4: The Aviator

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 4: The Aviator

Eagle loved to fly. Ever since his father, a famous aviator, had taken him up in a jet, he'd loved the feeling of being in the air. This was the main reason he insisted on taking over air recon duty regularly. It wasn't that he didn't trust his troops: They were the backbone of Green Earth: it was just the fact that flying was what he loved (and did) best. Eagle looked out at the sea. He never had liked the sea very much, not how it looked, but swimming in it. He never would have dared admit it to his fellow CO's, but underneath his brave exterior, Eagle had always had a small fear of the ocean. Just as his father had given Eagle the joy of flight, he had also shown Eagle the danger's of the sea. It had been the sea that had taken his father away from him 15 years ago, when he was still a boy. Now, 25 years old, Eagle still feared the water. He looked away, turning to look at the picture of his father he had in the corner of the dashboard of his personal jet. Eagle smiled, remembering all the people who used to say how he was a spitting image of his father, the pilot hero. Eagle's reminiscing was broken by the beeping of the radio. Eagle grabbed the headset and placed it around his head.

"This is Eagle."

"Eagle, you need to get back here quickly. Nell contacted us a minute ago. She urgently needs Green Earth's assistance."

"What's the situation Drake?"

"Well Eagle, seems that Black Hole came back again in greater numbers."

"Well then we should prepare Drake! If they're attacking Orange Star, then we need to prepare for an attack as well!" Eagle was a little surprised with Nell. She should have known better than to contact Green Earth for help when Blue Moon was much closer. If Green Earth left, it would unnecessarily waste supplies, and if they were attacking Orange Star, then it was only a matter of time until Green Earth came under assault too.

"Not so Eagle. This isn't just any attack. Orange Star is getting hit with a tidal wave of Black Hole's army. It seems they have a new attack plan. If they can capture just Orange Star alone, the size of Black Hole would be great enough to swallow up Blue Moon too, before they could do anything. After that it would be over for both us and for Yellow Comet." Eagle paused for a moment.

"So you mean…the entire Black Hole Army?"

"Yes Eagle. Orange Star is in for stormy seas, and will need our help. That's why we need you back here so we can prepare." Eagle had heard stories about the Black Hole Army; about how big it really was. A formidable force, because unlike Orange Star, or Green Earth, or any of the others, Black Hole existed only to battle. It was a force made to destroy, to conquer the others and to rule the world. When they had come in smaller numbers they had been defeated again and again, and even when things weren't easy Black Hole still hadn't won out. This time though, it seemed they were tired of playing games. Eagle looked at the picture of his father again, and thought about what he had always said: Always be there for your friends, you never know when you'll need their help someday…

"Drake?"

"Yeah Eagle? What is it?"

"If Orange Star is in trouble, then we need to get there as soon as possible. If I rally my troops now, I can leave in an hour. You stay here with Jess and prepare. I'll make an early departure and scope out the situation for the both of you."

"Wait Eagle! Don't you thing it would be better to leave together as a group?"

"Drake, if Orange Star is in trouble, they'll need help quickly. Sure, leaving together would strengthen our forces, but the two of you together are strong enough without me. It's better if I get help to Nell and the others as soon as I can. They could use a good aviator." Eagle smiled. On the other end he could tell Drake was grinning too.

"Oh alright, if you feel so strongly about it. I wish you fair winds until we get there to help you Eagle. See you soon!" The line went dead. Eagle smiled again and contacted his lieutenant.

'What can I do for you sir?"

"Tell the troops to pack up their things. We go West in one hour soldier!"

"May I ask why?"

"Orange Star needs our help. COs Drake and Jess will be staying behind to better prepare. We, on the other hand, are leaving as soon as possible. Can I count on you to have the troops ready in an hour?"

"Yes sir! We will be ready in an hour!"

"Good, I'll join you then. Eagle out." Eagle took off his headset. In a span of about 5 minutes, he had just gone from relaxed to tensely ready for battle. Somehow this was okay for him though. He looked at the ocean again, and shrugged off his fears. He could do without them while he assisted his allies. All of this flew through his mind as he boldly flew into the sunset.


	6. Chapter 5: Battle Memorial

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 5: Battle Memorial

"Colin! Hurry it up! We need to get to Orange Star as soon as humanly possible!"

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" Olaf was seeing red. Now that the grieving process was over, Olaf felt a deep-seated hate towards Black Hole for taking Grit's life. Deep down, he knew he was being hard on Colin, and he wished he could have explained why, but it was beyond him. Other than Olaf, Grit had been Colin's complete idol, and telling him that Grit was dead was something the Olaf could not bring himself to do just yet. He was snapped out of another anger-driven daydream by Colin's voice. "Sir, are you okay? You seem upset about something." Olaf looked at him for a moment… then closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yes Colin, I'm okay. I'm just a little stressed because… we aren't making very good time walking through these woods! Let's just keep moving. I'll be fine."

"Right sir!" Olaf sighed again and tried to keep from glaring. He knew he couldn't pick on Colin, especially since he would have to break the news to him eventually. "Sir, when will Commander Grit be meeting up with us?" That was it. Olaf knew he couldn't keep it from Colin any longer.

"Well Colin… you see, Grit won't be joining us. I didn't want to tell you this yet, but I'm afraid that… Grit is-" Suddenly, a shot rang out, causing the two to yell in surprise. "Take cover! Colin, do you have the binoculars?" He was already pulling Colin behind a nearby boulder.

"Yes sir, they're right here."

""Give them to me now!" Olaf grabbed the binoculars and slowly peered over the rock, focusing them on where he thought the shot had come from. Sure enough, he saw a small group of recon units in the nearby trees.

"Is it Black Hole sir?" Olaf zoomed in on one of the units. One look told him the answer.

"Yes Colon. There's a black, spiral-like insignia on the side of one of the units. Black Hole must have stationed look outs along the land route to watch for us."

"What course of action should we take Commander Olaf sir?"

"We don't know what kind of forces we're up against yet Colin. We need to scope out the situation using recon units, but they already know we're here, so they'll probably expect that. This is bad for us. We can't advance until the situation is safe, but we're pressed for time." Olaf pondered on the bad situation, while Colin looked around for some sort of answer. It started to rain, which caused Colin to look up. It was a good thing he did.

"Sir, look! I think our problem is solved!" Olaf looked up at the sky too, and saw more than rain. He saw fog. "Now we can conceal the units in the trees and still scope out the situation!" Olaf showed one of his rare smiles.

"Good work Colin, this is perfect! First, what I want you to do is send a few recon units in to do some spy work. That way we can get a good idea of what types of units we're dealing with."

"Yes sir!" Colin was already off to arrange it. A few minutes later, about 10 units were scattering themselves around the area where the enemy had been sited. Colin returned to Olaf's side.

"They're moving in sir. We should know what we're dealing with soon." Sure enough, before Olaf could respond, one of the recon units radioed in.

"Sir, this is bad. The number of units is small, but it seems most of them are neotanks! We don't have that kind of firepower with us!" Olaf grabbed the receiver.

"Hold your position for the moment soldier."

"Yes sir!" Olaf put the receiver down, a look of intense concentration on his face.

"They have neotanks? This could be bad for us." Olaf was really worried. He hadn't expected Black Hole to station anyone to wait for them. If he had, he would have brought more firepower, but all that was available were the infantry and a few recon units. There were plenty of supplies, but without a proper base available, it would take an unnecessary amount of time to build more units, and by then it would be too late.

"Sir?"

"What is it Colin? I need to concentrate on this battle. We'll need all the resources we have if we even stand a chance of surviving this."

"Well it's about that sir. I gathered basic intel on our surroundings. It seems there are a few abandoned bases in the nearby area." Olaf's head shot up.

"Are you sure Colin? This isn't the best strategical area for bases. It's too far from the Northern Coast, where Black Hole normally comes from." Colin nodded.

"I'm sure sir. I had the buildings checked out. They're pretty weathered, and it's obvious they haven't been used in a while, but they'll suit our needs." Olaf was still puzzled. What would bases be doing in such a non-aggressive area? Suddenly he remembered. The bases were real alright, he had used them himself, way back before they had even known about Black Hole. The bases were abandoned because they hadn't been used since the battles between Blue Moon and Orange Star. Now that the two were allies, there was no need for them… until now. Olaf chuckled at their good fortune.

"Good work my boy!"

"Thank you sir! I also have one more bit of intel that might be useful."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Well sir, Black Hole's units… they don't seem to be advancing. I don't think they're here to attack us, only to keep us from advancing. That means that even though we are pressed for time getting to Orange Star, we don't have to worry about a time limit before they get to us, as of now." Olaf grinned and slapped Colin on the back.

"Brilliant work Colin! You are shaping up to be a fine CO indeed!" Colin blushed and mumbled a thank you. This was the ultimate compliment to Colin, who both admired Olaf and wanted to live up to his great leadership in battle. "Now, the only problem is those neotanks. With firepower like that, there's no way we can take them head-on. That means we'll have to use… long-range combat." Olaf looked at the ground. Long-range had always been Grit's specialty.

"It's too bad Commander Grit isn't here sir. He's the best at long-range combat." With the concept of a battle at hand, Olaf had totally forgotten that Colin didn't know yet, and that he had intended to tell him before the situation had arisen. Olaf sighed and turned to Colin.

"Colin, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I can't keep this from you any longer. Commander Grit is… gone." Colin's blank expression told Olaf that Colin didn't understand. "He was… killed in an attack on the coast yesterday." Colin's eyes widened. He turned and looked away from Olaf. This was so Olaf couldn't see a single tear falling from his face onto the ground, but Olaf saw it, and he knew how Colin felt. "Colin, I know how you feel. Grit was like a brother to me, and losing him is very hard to accept, but-" Colin whipped around, his face filled with determination, and not a single tear on his face.

"We have to win this! To avenge Commander Grit sir! Let me lead the attack, I won't let either of you down!" Olaf was surprised for a moment. The boy had the heart of a CO alright. He had intended to allow the command of Blue Moon to fall to Grit first, after he retired, but this was no longer possible. Olaf wasn't upset about this anymore (it had been hanging in the back of his mind for a time), because he felt that he could entrust Colin now, a young boy perhaps, but a boy with the makings of a true leader. He stared at Colin for a few more seconds, and gave in to his instincts.

"Colin, there is no-one I would trust more with this task."

"Thank you sir! I'll make you proud!" Colin took command, and Rockets were made. Colin began leading them into the forested areas. Olaf thought about how putting Colin in charge would affect things. Sure his inexperience made his units less powerful, but Colin was able to make more of them. Even so, he knew Colin would have a hard time winning this. Once the neotanks came under fire, they would start advancing quickly. If Colin's forces didn't take out the neotanks before they reached him, it would be game over for them. Neotanks moved quickly too. Olaf pondered… and suddenly an idea hit him.

"Movement…that's what it comes down to! How long it will take for Black Hole to move to us, but we don't have to move at all! It's simply a matter of making sure they have a hard time moving…" Olaf contacted Colin on the front line immediately.

"Colin, when all of your rockets are in position, I want you to tell me immediately. I have a plan that will help us win this battle!" Colin responded at once.

"Yes sir! But what's your plan?"

"You'll see my boy! You'll see!" Olaf prepared to put his plan into action. Minutes later, Colin came on the line.

"We're in position Commander Olaf sir!"

"Good, good! Fire at will! I'm putting my plan into action as we speak!" Colin obeyed.

"All units fire at will! This is for Commander Grit!" Missiles began spiraling through the air. 6 of them hit a neotank, which exploded. More missiles hit more neotanks, which also exploded. At this point, Black Hole was moving in quickly. "Whatever Commander plans to do, he'd better do it quickly! The missiles gave away our locations. Once they move in and spot us, we won't stand a chance!" Colin felt a sudden chill on the back of his neck. Something cold had landed there. Colin looked up and smiled. For the second time today, weather had saved them, but this wasn't just any weather. It was… "Snow! Commander Olaf is using his CO power to make it snow! Ground units have trouble moving in the snow!" Colin contacted Olaf. "Sir! That was brilliant! Ingenious! Absolutely-"

"Enough Colin, I get the idea!" Olaf laughed "I've been saving that one just in case! Thought it might help you out! It seems your impressed, but don't forget why I did it! I bought you some time, use it wisely!"

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Colin turned back to the task at hand. Through a pair of binoculars, he saw the neotanks still moving, but they were going much slower now. "Continue firing! Let's use this to our advantage while we can!" By now, the neotanks were being greatly reduced, and some had even begun to retreat. This was futile, as missiles flew in every direction, taking out the cowards trying to flee from the battle. It went on in this way, until finally; there was only one neotank left, while Colin's rockets hadn't even been touched. "Finally, the last one! On my command!" Colin was about to give the command to fire, when a gruff voice came from behind.

"Wait Colin!" Colin turned to see Olaf joining him on the front line. "You've done very well boy. Nevertheless, I think I'd like to take this last one if it's alright with you."

"Of course sir!" It had stopped snowing a while ago, and the ground was becoming easier and easier to travel on. Using this to its advantage, the last neotank turned tale and began driving madly away into the forest, trying to escape the inevitable. Olaf glared at it. "So it's cowards like this that make up the Black Hole army… you take away life and freedom as you please, and then you run away when it's your turn. You make me sick!" Olaf's eyes narrowed at the pitiful lone vehicle. "For Grit! FIRE!" Every rocket with ammo left in it fired, causing an explosion that took out not only the neotank, but the surrounding woods as well. It was over. They had won.

"We did it sir! Victory!" Olaf turned to Colin and patted his shoulder.

"WE is right Colin. You did a great job today. Grit would have been proud." Colin looked down at the ground and blushed again.

"Th… Thank you for saying so sir. That means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it Colin. Now, let's move on! We do have a limited amount of time you know!"

"Yes sir! Troops, lets move on!" As they resumed their journey to Orange Star, Colin and Olaf were smiling. And they weren't alone. At that very moment, from the seclusion a wooded hill about 30 yards behind, was a lanky figure looking through a pair of powerful binoculars and grinning along with them.

"Nice victory. That was some fine shootin' on Colin's part. And Olaf; just as resourceful as ever! This is still a big war though, and I'll be needed in the future. Better stay low until they need me. I'll be of more use if Black Hole doesn't know I'm still… aw shucks! They're movin' again already? I better not fall behind. Orange Star, here I come!" And there went the man known as Grit.


	7. Chapter 6: Wrenches and Romance

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 6: Wrenches and Romance

Andy was eager to test out his new invention. By nature, he had never been much of an inventor. Repairs were his forte. But, when a good idea came into his head, Andy brought it to life in a matter of hours, with some help from the Orange Star scientists. He had once invented a new jet propulsion system that had helped them win numerous battles. Another time it had been an inconspicuous yet mobile recon buoy that helped monitor the situations on the seas surrounding Orange Star. This time it was a combat simulator. In order to prepare for the battles at hand, Andy thought it would be good for a CO to be able to keep their skills sharp during the "calms in the storm". He had finished it only minutes before, and was gazing upon it in admiration. It was a booth, sort of like what one could find in an arcade. It played like a videogame too. It was designed to copy the attack patterns Black Hole had shown in the past, and present a challenge on a variety of maps. All one had to do was select a map, select yourself from the list of COs, and then set up allies and enemies. After that you chose how much money you started off with, the weather on the field, whether or not the CO powers could be accessed, etc. (sound familiar to anyone? lol). Then the battle started. Andy was ready to test it, but his imagination went wild again, and he stopped admiring and began updating. About an hour later, Sami appeared in the doorway overlooking Andy's workshop.

"Hey Andy." Andy looked up.

"Oh, hey Sami. What's up?" Sami walked down the steps and jumped up onto a pile of tank parts.

"Nothing much. What're you working on this time?"

"This Sami is my combat simulator! We can use it to practice when Black Hole's ugly mug isn't showing itself." Sami looked surprised.

"Wow! Andy that's a great idea!" Andy blushed and shuffled his feet.

"Do you really think so?" Sami jumped down from her perch, looking excited.

"Yeah! Where'd you get the idea for it?" Andy looked up at her and smiled.

"Well, I kept thinking about how a way topractice our CO skills would be of real use right now. Then I also thought about how, before I joined Orange Star, I used to love to play videogames. After that, the idea for a simulator just formed in my-"

"Is it ready?"

"Huh?"

"Well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to help you test it out." Andy just looked at her. "Not that it needs to be tested!" Sami said quickly. "I'm sure it works fine! I just… well I…" Sami faded, blushing profusely.

'Oh no! It's not that! I just didn't know if… I mean, do you really want to? It's okay if you don't…" Andy did the same. Both were silent for a few seconds. Finally, Sami broke the silence.

"I'd love to! Is it ready?" Andy, relieved that Sami had spoken, smiled and felt better.

"Well, not exactly. I have a few more adjustments to make. I decided to install a virtual reality chamber. It can fit 4 people at once with ample arm and leg room for each." Sami looked like Christmas had come early.

"Wow! Andy, you have the coolest ideas. I mean that. Orange Star wouldn't be the same without you." Andy was the color of a tomato.

"Re-really? Wow, thanks Sami…" Andy fell silent, the pride seeping through him. Then he came to his senses. "… I should probably get back to working on this thing." Andy turned to continue working on the simulator, but he felt Sami's hand on his shoulder. She looked embarrassed.

"Can… can I help? I don't really know much about this stuff, but you can give me directions and I'll do what you tell me." Andy thought about it. "Opportunities like this don't come often," Andy thought to himself. "And this is the perfect time to ask her out on a-" Andy mentally slapped himself back into focus.

"Yeah, sure Sami. I'd love your help. It'll go faster if we work together." Sami's eyes lit up.

"Great! Just tell me what to do."

"Alright. You can help with that wiring over there. Just match the colored wires with the corresponding sockets."

"Yes sir!" Sami saluted playfully, and the two of them laughed. It went on like this for hours. It actually took longer than normal, but the two of them were having fun doing it together. Finally though, it was done.

"Looks good! Everything is set. Thanks for the help Sami." Sami smiled happily.

"You're welcome Andy. That was fun! Now that it's done, can we test it out?"

"Yeah! Why not! I'll just set up the program and-"

"Hey. What're you guys doing in here?" The two looked up to see Max walking in wearing pajamas and yawning. Andy and Sami took one look and began laughing hysterically.

"Max, why are you wearing pajamas?" Andy sniggered.

"…With little footballs on them?" Sami giggled. Max looked at them like they were crazy.

"Well, about the footballs… well I just like football. As for the pajamas… well most people are wearing these at 1:00 in the morning." Andy and Sami stopped laughing.

"1:00 in the morning!?" They yelled in unison.

"Yeah. You woke me up. My room is just down the hall after all." Max yawned again.

"Oh, sorry Max. I guess we lost track of time. We'll finish up. You go back to bed." Sami smiled at him.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Max turned, his eyes already closed. "G'night guys." The two said goodnight, and Max left the room.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to test my simulator tomorrow. You go to bed too Sami, I'll clean up." Now that she knew what time it was, Sami was too tired to argue.

"Alright Andy, thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomor-" Andy went dead silent as he received a kiss on the cheek. Sami wasn't blushing, but she seemed really pleased with herself.

"Goodnight Andy." Sami paused for a moment, and then walked up the stairs.

"Good… goodnight Sami." Sami smiled again and left the room.

Andy returned to the task of cleaning up the tools, thinking about what had just happened. She had kissed him. It was only a kiss on the cheek, but it was the first step. Andy was still buried in thoughts as he switched off the light and walked to his room. Could this mean she felt the same way? This was running through his mind as he changed out of his clothes and got into bed. Finally, as he shut off the light on his nightstand, these thoughts settled on a conclusion in his mind, and it comforted him and gave him new confidence.

"Goodnight my goddess." said Andy as he slipped into an unconscious dream world.


	8. Chapter 7: Mountain Mayhem

Sorry about the long wait people. My computer is giving me problems again (stupid computer). Anyway, I'll keep trying to update every weekend like I've gotten into the habit of doing, so expect my next chapter by Sunday.

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 7: Mountain Mayhem

"B6"

"Miss. G8"

"Hit! E7."

"Miss. A2"

"Sink! You win sir."

"Again? Wow, this must be the 7th time I've beaten you with no misses and an undamaged fleet."

"How do you do it sir?"

"Believe me; you get pretty good after going through a few Battleship sessions with Drake. Being who he is, he knows every winning strategy in existence. He taught me a few things"

"Wow. Do you think he'd be willing to teach me too?"

"Well he's always up for a game. Just challenge him and he'll give you tips every time he annihilates your fl-"

"Sir! We've sighted air units ahead! You might want to come and look." Eagle jumped to his feet.

"Thank you. Give me the binoculars." Eagle walked to the window and focused on the units. A large group of copters were moving east just ahead of them. "Wait. I think I recognize those copters. Contact them immediately."

"Yes sir. Right away sir." The soldier ran off. A few minutes later, the intercom in the room came to life.

"Sir, we've contacted the copters."

"Ah, good. Patch me through from there."

"Yes sir." A brief moment later, the intercom emitted a small static noise, and a new voice came on the line.

"This is Sonja of the Yellow Comet Army. Who am I speaking to please?" Eagle smiled.

"Sonja? I knew I recognized those copters! This is Eagle of Green Earth."

"Eagle! So it IS you. We saw air forces coming up behind us. I thought I recognized the Green Earth insignia, but I wasn't certain. Why are you out here? Did Nell contact you as well?"

"Yes. She said she needed or help, but Drake and Jess had to stay behind and better prepare. I went ahead to scope out the situation for them and provide aerial support for Orange Star."

"Same here. Father will be leaving in 2 days time. I was going to provide him with some early intel, and what little assistance I could in battle. Plus, I'm not alone." Eagle puzzled for a moment.

"... Oh, you mean-"

"Yes. Sensei is with me! With his copters, your planes, and my intel, we should be able to make a real difference in this war. Since we're going to the same place, why don't we travel together?"

"Well I would, except your copters aren't fast enough to keep up with the jets and bombers. I'd have to slow my pace, and time is of the essence."

"Now, now Eagle. What I lack in speed I make up in maneuverability." Sensei was grinning. "I bet I could teach you a thing or two." Eagle laughed.

"That sounds like a challenge. Are you saying your air skills outmatch mine?"

"Did I say that? No, I would never DREAM of challenging you Eagle. Your abilities as a pilot are far too excellent for me to match right?" Sensei started laughing.

"Ah, so you're challenging me after all! Well how about this! My speed V.S. your maneuverability. We're closing in on Blue Moon land, and we'll hit the Eastern point soon. There are mountains on that point. If we stay on course, they'll be directly in our path. Whoever can get to the other side of them first wins. Does that sound good?"

"Whatever works for you Eagle. Heh heh, I'll just get a copter ready, and then off we go." Sensei had a rare glint in his eye from the old days. "Oh, and Eagle?"

"Yes?"

"If I win, your troops have to polish my copters after the battle is over." Eagle was silent for a few seconds.

"...Fine. However, if I win, your troops have to polish my jets. Deal?"

"Deal, now prepare to witness brilliance!" Sonja was surprised.

"You two! Don't be so immature! We don't have time for this!"

"Now Sonja, there's always time for racing! I'm sure the air veteran will agree."

"Well not always, but you know Sonja, I could use a little practice before we get to Orange Star. I'll see you on the other side, okay? I promise." Sonja

"Targets confirmed. Yellow Comet and Green Earth are approaching. Sir, how do you know they'll travel through here? It seems more sensible to just circle around the mountains, doesn't it?" Hawke looked at the soldier, making him stiffen. Even on screen, a look like that from Commander Hawke gave a guy the shivers.

"Don't question me. I trust your "sensible" way of doing things hasn't included a lack of the forces I told you to assemble."

"N-no sir, everything is here, just as you ordered."

"These aren't just my orders soldier. These come from someone higher up than me. Don't mess up, or it will cost you dearly."

"Y-yes sir." The trembling man turned back to the sea and raised his binoculars. "Uh, sir?"

'What is it now?"

"Well... it's just like I thought. Both Yellow Comet and Green Earth are traveling around the mountains instead of through them."

"Of course the armies are dolt. They aren't your target. Look again and tell me what you see." The soldier looked again.

"There seems to be... one stray battle copter and one stray jet flying directly this way sir."

"And do you know who is inside?" The man shook his head.

"Two of the most important CO's of their armies. Without proper firepower, they won't be able to defend themselves. This is the perfect chance to destroy them without interference. Can I trust you?"

"Yes sir! We'll take them out right away!"

"You'd better soldier. You'd better."

"I see you're fully armed too. Same reason as me?"

"Well Eagle, if you mean to knock out annoying mountain peaks, then yes. Besides, you can never be too careful can you?"

"No, you sure can't. Anyway, are you ready? I'm going to take off my headset now."

"Yes I'm ready. Whoever gets to the other side first. 3.

"2."

"1"

"GO!" Both pilots yelled in unison. Eagle was in first already.

"Heh, I told him, but did he listen? NooWOAH!" Eagle swerved to the right, just missing the first mountain. He looked to the left to see Sensei passing him and smirking. "Okay so you know more than I gave you credit for!" said Eagle watching the back of the copter disappearing into the peaks. "That doesn't mean flying fast is all I can do." Eagle sped up, tearing after Sensei, spirit reborn. Meanwhile, Sensei was well into the mountains.

"Eagle almost crashed. If he's having trouble already, he'll never beat me. When it comes to mountains, good maneuvering skills are more important than speed. I have the upper-hand already."

Sensei may have been focused on flying, but while thinking about Eagle's mishap, he failed to notice the anti-airs armed and ready on the cliffs below.

"He's almost in position. Prepare to fire. After all the trouble we went through getting anti-airs over these mountains, you'd better not miss him."

"Yes sir. Give us the order."

"Almost...almost... fire... NOW!"

"I wonder where Eagle is." thought Sensei. "After all, his skills are at least good enough that he should have-" Sensei was interrupted by the sound of the tail of his copter getting blown off, followed by violent shaking and a swift fall toward earth.

"A direct hit sir. He's going down."

"Excellent, now just wait for... wait, here he comes! Prepare to fire again!" Eagle appeared around a mountain top.

"Darn it, where is he? I can't be far behind. Maybe... what the!" Eagle saw smoke rising from the wreckage of a battle copter.

"Oh my god! I have to get down there! He could still be alive! I just need to find a good landing sp-" Eagle too was interrupted, as a huge hole was blown in the right wing of the jet.

"ARGH! GOING DOWN!" The nose of the jet tilted downward as Eagle's jet started a dive into the same valley as Sensei's wrecked copter. "The controls aren't responding! I'm going to crash!" Eagle didn't have a parachute, and he realized he would never survive if he stayed in the cockpit. "Have... to get to... the rear..." Eagle was out of his seat in seconds, turning toward the back of the jet. "Wait!" he turned and plucked the photo of his father off the dashboard, then made a wild sprint for the limited safety of the jet rear. Seconds later, his jet scraped the side of a mountainside and slid down the steep rock face into the valley below.

"Another direct hit! Both targets have been eliminated sir!"

"Good. Now, get the anti-airs to the westernmost point of these mountains, save one or two. Orders from Commander Hawke. Move out!" As Black Hole's units pulled back and began moving west, no one seemed to notice a small amount of movement down below.

"Uhnnn… Damn. I didn't even know they were there." Eagle was climbing out of the wreckage of his destroyed jet, dazed and angry, but unharmed. He looked back at the jet and sighed. He was sad to see it destroyed this way. It had been his father's jet; the very one he had been flying the day he crashed in the ocean. They had managed to find it and bring it up, but Eagle's father was not as lucky. There had been no one in the cockpit when the jet surfaced. Eagle had the jet repaired, and even as new models came out, he refused to let it go. It had been his companion, and a memoir to remember his father by. "I'll miss you my friend. You were a good… ARGH! How could I forget Sensei?" Eagle whipped around and ran toward the copter remains. The cockpit was intact, but the rest of it was gone. Eagle bent over and peered in. To his surprise, there was no crumpled body. There wasn't even an arm or leg. It was empty. Suddenly without warning, a hand grabbed Eagle's shoulder. Eagle spun around to face this new threat. "… Sensei! What the heck do you think you're-" Sensei began to laugh.

"Oh the look on your face! You looked ready to jump 20 feet in the air! Ha ha ha!" Eagle was fuming.

"That isn't funny! You could have been… if I hadn't… stop laughing!" Eagle was staring directly into that smiling face. He didn't mean for it to happen, but watching Sensei laugh brought him to do it. His mouth swiveled a little, then slowly turned into a smirk, then a smile. Then Eagle burst out laughing, and the 2 just snickered and guffawed for a few minutes. After regaining their breaths back, Eagle wiped a tear out of his eye and turned back to Sensei. "So, how did you survive? At your age, that kind of crash should have been fatal, but you don't even have a scratch on you!" Sensei grinned.

"Eagle, if you remember, I used to be a paratrooper back in the day. I always have my parachute with me. As my copter shot toward the ground, I evacuated and landed safely on a nearby cliff. Took me forever to get down here on foot let me tell you." Now that Eagle could concentrate on the situation, he looked at both the wrecks, a sense of despair hitting him.

"Now what're we going to do? Both our units are smoking piles of metal, and flying is our only way out of this. I doubt we could survive a hike all the way through, with no food, no water, no shelter, and some of Black Hole's units with anti-airs hidden in the mountains. We don't even have weapons to fight off infantry!" Eagle sat down on a rock, his head in his hands. Sensei looked around too, frowning.

"You're right Eagle. Our only hope now is to fly out of here…" Sensei kept looking back and forth between the units. Suddenly an idea hit him, and yet again, he smiled. "… and that's exactly what we're going to do!" Eagle looked at him like he was crazy.

"And how do you suggest we do that? Neither of our units has sufficient working parts to fly." Sensei didn't stop smiling.

"You may be right there Eagle," said Sensei. "But I'm willing to bet we have sufficient parts together!" Eagle slowly lifted his head, and as he took a better look at the wreckages, he saw Sensei's plan. Sensei's cockpit was intact, but there was no rear. The rear of Eagle's jet had survived, but the crash had demolished the nose and cockpit.

"A jet/copter combo… it's a good idea, but will it work?" Eagle saw Sensei's hand in front of his face, and he looked up to see Sensei offering him the hand.

"Well it's worth a shot! No harm in trying is there?" Eagle stopped frowning, a fresh sense of determination rushing into him at these words. He took Sensei's hand and Sensei helped him up.

"You've got that right! Since the back of my jet is still intact, the power generator and the spare tools and parts I had back there should still be okay. Are you good with a wrench?" Sensei shook his head.

"Heh heh, nope. I haven't fixed an air unit in 20 years! Never know till you try though!" Both started laughing, as Eagle opened up a rear hatch and they pulled out tools. Eagle was ready, and so was Sensei. The sun went down, and they started a fire.

"It's a whole new contest now; a contest of survival. Us against Black Hole, and they have anti-airs."

"But we'll be ready with a few surprises of our own won't we?"

"Yup! They've never seen an air unit like this!" And so, piece by piece, the two worked together, building well into the night.


	9. Chapter 8: Andy's Nightmare

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 8: Andy's Nightmare

As Eagle and Sensei worked hard into the night, at the exact same time, Andy was lying sound asleep in his bed. It had been a tough day, finishing that battle simulator and all. Andy may have been sound asleep, but his mind was still flooded with dreams. Andy rarely dreamed. It only really occurred when he was turning things over in his mind, which he hardly ever was, or at least not before bed. Tonight though, Andy had fallen asleep with something to think about. Even though certain possibilities had already settled in his mind, Andy had still drifted off thinking about that kiss. Such a small thing caused a lot to happen. First, Andy dreamed that he was on a cruise ship on the seas, sitting by the pool in a bathing suit. No surprise, Sami was right next to him on a blanket sunbathing. Max came and was about to jump in the pool, when suddenly he was in his underwear, and he stormed off as Andy and Sami laughed. Andy's next dream was less funny, but just as pleasing, in an adventurous sort of way. Andy was in safari clothes, using a saber to cut through thick jungle vines. Sami was behind him. Quite unlike the real Sami, she looked like a helpless damsel, or in this case just a frightened tourist.

"Don't worry ma'am. I'll protect you from anything that comes along."

"Oh thank you sir. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't found me lost in the jungle."

"No need to thank me miss. It's my job to find lost tourists. I must say though, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever rescued, and that's saying something."

"R-really? Do you really think I'm beautiful? Thank you very much! You must have rescued lots of people."

"Oh, well I find at least 10 or 20 people each week. Sometimes I have to fight off deadly snakes or panthers."

"Oh wow! You must be really strong!"

"Well, I suppose so. I mean, I CAN bench press a car after all…" Andy had a few more corny dreams like this, some a little more romantic than others (wink wink). Others were just ridiculous. There was one however that stood out. It was the worst nightmare Andy had ever had. He would still remember it for years to come. It was mid-day, in the middle of a battle-torn wasteland. Andy's eyes popped open, and he found himself fully clothed, lying on a cot in the middle of a medical tent. He reached up and felt wrappings around his head.

"…What… happened?" Andy looked around and saw Orange Star soldiers wounded all around him. Nothing looked too serious, but Andy felt uneasy. The entrance flap was pulled aside, and Max entered the tent. He saw Andy sitting up and rushed over to his bedside.

"Andy! You're awake! Are you okay little buddy?" Andy was silent for a moment.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine. What happened?" The look of worry on Max's face lessened, but it didn't leave.

"You were on the front line commanding our forces. A bomber came down and nearly did you in, along with the rest of the guys in here. Luckily it was horrible aim, and all it did was throw a few guys through the air including you. No-one was seriously injured, but you hit your head against a rock and began bleeding. A couple field medics came down and found you, and carried you in here where you were checked and bandaged. That was about 20 minutes ago. You scared me for a little while. I thought you might have gotten seriously hurt."

"Sorry about that." Andy smiled "I'm fine though. Can I get up?"

"Yeah, if you're sure you're okay."

"I'm sure." Andy stood up and stretched. Something was wrong though, and he suddenly noticed it. "Hey."

"What? What's wrong?

"Where's Sami? Is she outside?" Max shook his head.

"She's out on the battlefield like you were. Her units are getting hit pretty hard. Now that you're okay, I think we should go help her out."

"Yeah, let's go!"

"Easy shorty, easy. We have to get a transport unit and drive out there. I'll get one ready now. Follow me."

"Good… hey! Don't call me shorty!" Max laughed and left the tent. Andy was about to follow, but then noticed he wasn't wearing shoes. He spotted them in the corner and pulled them on. Just as Andy got out of the tent, a big armored vehicle drove up. The hatch opened and Max appeared,

"Come on, let's go!"

"Coming!" Andy climbed into the hatch, and it closed. "So, how are the units fairing?"

"Not good. We were doing okay, but then you were put out of commission, and I came to check up on you, so now we're losing. I should have listened to Sami when she said I would have been more useful on the battlefield... oh well. Nothing we can do about it now. Just gotta get there!"

"Yeah." Andy was looking out a small side window at the battlefield. They had reached the edge, and the fight was coming into view. Fiery explosions were occurring all over the place, and the sound of gunfire had long ago become a single blast of sound in the loud battle. "It's scenes like this that show you just how horrible war can be. It helps you to appreciate the calms in the never-ending storm."

"Never-ending huh? You really think that Andy?"

"Sure do. No matter how much everyone will try to coexist, there will always be at least one person in the world whose ideals are different. It only takes one to start a war." Max laughed.

"One? Andy, I don't think one person could fight a war. It takes an army!" Andy looked at him.

"Yeah, but there are natural leaders, and natural followers. If one natural leader decided to take over the world, all he would have to do would be to influence natural followers. Promise them things, and by human nature humans will listen to you." Max was silent for a few seconds.

"... Well yeah I suppose, but... look!" Max was staring out the window hatch, a mixed look of surprise and worry on his face. Andy turned and saw it. He saw Sami and her forces pulling back, but it was what was causing the retreat that held his attention. The Black Hole army was charging on, and in the midst of the charge, atop one lone hill in the field, was a figure. Andy squinted, because the approaching sunset behind the figure made him nothing more than darkness on the horizon at first glance. As they got closer though, Andy saw who it was. Commanding the wave of black swarming over the grasses... was Sturm. A sudden mass of Black Hole pretty much herded the transport into position by Sami's forces, and they were surrounded.

"This is it Andy. I think it's over. There's nothing left for us to do."

"Are you saying we surrender?"

"No, I'd never say that. I'm just saying... it's over."

"... I have to get to Sami! I need to tell her something!"

"No Andy! Wait! You can't-" It was too late; Andy was already out of the hatch and running for the recon unit Sami was perched on. He stopped dead though, as he saw that Black Hole had vanished. The army was gone, and only Sturm remained, atop that hill of his.

"What are you, crazy? Running around in the middle of a... what happened to the army?" Andy didn't answer. He was staring at Sturm, who was slowly raising his arm toward the sky. His hand was glowing.

"Oh no..." Andy knew what was happening. Before he could warn Max, a bright light shot directly from Sturm's hand into the sky.

"Whoa... what's he doing?" Andy was just staring up in horror at the sky. "What're you looking at?" Max looked up too. "Huh? What's with all those little black dots?" But they weren't just dots. As they got closer it was obvious what they were: meteors. Thousands of them. Giant flaming chunks of rock were spiraling down upon them. Andy's head whipped toward Sami's unit.

"Max! We have to warn Sami! She hasn't seen the meteors, and she's driving her forces directly toward Sturm!"

"Whoa, you're right!" C'mon, let's go!" The two ran back to the transport and closed the hatch. As the transport tore off after Sami's units, Andy watched the space rocks getting closer and closer. He winced as the first one made contact and wiped out 3 tanks.

"Andy! Look!" Andy's looked back up at the sky, and he saw a meteor shooting straight for them. "We can't avoid it! We have to evacuate!"

"No! We have to get to Sami!"

"It's too late! We can't slow down! We'll have to jump!"

"But I-"

"Look out!" The flaming rock would hit them in seconds. "Get out of here!" Before Andy could say anything, the hatch was open. Max grabbed Andy and hurled him out of it.

"WHAAAA-URGH!" Andy hit the ground and rolled. He stopped rolling and looked after the transport. Andy yelled out as a meteor hit it dead on... with Max still inside. "NOOOOOO!" Andy got up and sprinted toward the flaming crater. Reaching the edge of it, he looked down into the depths of it. Nothing was left but a fiery mix of rock and crushed metal. Andy was speechless, looking down into the final resting place of his best friend. He almost fell in though, as quake after quake resulted from the meteors pounding the earth. Andy could only watch as Sami tried to dodge. It was futile. As her units were decimated in the rain of fire, she made a u-turn and started a retreat with what was left. She came closer and closer, but another meteor hit, and it narrowly missed her: all TOO narrowly. It caused the unit to swerve and, ultimately, to spin out and fall over, sliding across the ground on its side.

"Sami!" Andy ran toward the damaged unit, feeling completely helpless. He was almost there when he saw Sami sprawled on the ground next to the recon. He rushed to her side. "Sami! Sami wake up! Are you okay?" Sami's eyes open slightly, and she looked up at Andy.

"Am... am I in... bad shape?" Andy had already seen the angle of her legs, and it didn't take a doctor to tell they were broken in several places. One of her arms appeared to be dislocated, and her forehead was bleeding, along with several other cuts along her body. Andy had seen all this, and he didn't have the heart to answer her. "I'm... going to die... I can see it in your eyes..." Sami smiled slightly, and then coughed up a little blood. Andy's eyes were full of tears.

"No Sami... you're going to be okay. I promise you'll be okay." Sami chuckled weakly.

"I can't feel my legs... I have a feeling... that even if you weren't lying, I would... still be beyond complete recovery..." She coughed up more blood. "So this is how it ends. We put up a good fight... I guess in the end... it just... wasn't... enough..." And with her last breath, Sami died. Andy couldn't speak. He wanted to look at her; to see if there was any way to bring her back; but he knew he couldn't, and something forced his eyes away from her body toward the horizon. There was Sturm. He was laughing, and he didn't stop. All that Andy could hear was that laughter. It filled his ears and he clamped his hands over them, trying to block out the horrible sound. Sturm was looking right at him, and kept laughing as he pointed toward the sky. Andy looked up to see one last meteor headed straight for them. It was about 20 yards away. The laughter grew louder. 10 yards. The sound grinded in Andy's head like nails on a chalkboard. 15 feet. The laughter. 7 feet. The horrible laughter. Andy cried out as the meteor reached 3 feet.

"STOP IT! STOP LAUGHING! STOOOOP IT NOOOOOOOOOOW!" The last thing Andy saw was that lone figure walking off, laughing, as the rock hit the earth, crushing them. Andy's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up. He was drenched in sweat, but he was safe. Nothing had happened. He was still in his room. "A dream... it was just... a dream..." Andy looked at his watch. It was 3:00 in the morning. "No," said Andy as he rolled over in bed. "That wasn't a dream... that was a nightmare." And with that, Andy lay back down. That laugh was never going to leave him... or at least not until this war was over. Andy sighed, and closed him eyes, trying to get back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9: Mountain Mayhem 2: A Winged M...

Two weeks with no updates. Sorry guys, I'm getting lazy. I should probably start writing little author thingies at the end of my chapters like everyone else too. Oh well, anyway... chapter 9.

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 9: Mountain Mayhem 2: A Winged Miracle

Dawn. As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, a small band of Black Hole troops could be seen hiking along the rough terrain of the mountains, grumbling as they went.

"Remind me why we're doing this."

"Because, Commander Hawke will have us killed on the grounds of treason if we don't do what he says, and he says scout out the wreckages we made yesterday."

"Yeah, but we saw them crash yesterday! No-one could have survived crashes like those!"

"That isn't completely true. Sure the old man would have died in the impact, but we didn't actually see Eagle's jet hit. We just blew him out of the sky, packed up, and left."

"So? At that speed, crashing into a mountain or diving into the ground would mean death for anyone!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, we're almost there. I can already see the valley where the copter landed, so the jet must be nearby." The troops continued walking until they reached the valley, where they saw to their surprise... nothing. No wreckage. No twisted, charred metal. Not even a nut could be found, and that was literal, because the troops searched.

"What the hell could have happened to them!"

"The only cover in this valley is a few bushes and that patch of woods over there. Maybe the wreckages landed in the trees?"

"Right. C'mon men, lets search those woods. I don't want a branch left unchecked!" The troops made their way into the woods, completely unaware of the presence watching them.

"Heh heh, you ready old man?"

"Is a jet fast? Come on boy, you know the answer. Let's do this and get back to our teams."

"Right." Black Hole was completely unprepared for a surprise attack. Before they knew it, 3 guys were unconscious on the ground, and as the rest turned around to fight, they were picked off too. A flurry of rocks showered down from the trees, knocking out the ones without helmets, and denting the helmets of the others.

"They're alive! Attack! Shoot them!" That was the last think the man said before his helmet was knocked off and he got a rock squarely in the forehead, turning out the lights. It was over quickly. Sensei and Eagle climbed down from the trees, grinning.

"Good thing you saw them coming, eh Eagle?"

"Yeah, but the rocks were your idea."

"Come on, we'd better take away their radio equipment. When they wake up they'll tell the rest of that Black Hole scum that we're alive. We don't want that to happen."

"Got it. I'll collect the gear. You start up our new creation. We never did test it did we?"

"Nope. About time to. What better way to test than to evade enemy fire right?" As Eagle went around relieving the unconscious soldiers of radios, an engine was revving up in the thicket a few feet away.

"We ready?"

"Yes! Climb in Eagle, it's time for the test drive!" Eagle got into the contraption, and in seconds it was shooting into the sky.

"Well, it's definitely speedy enough! I think we've got things under... LOOK OUT!" They were about to hit a rock face. Sensei spun a crank installed in the dashboard, and the engines suddenly revolved to the left, causing the airborne wonder to shoot clear of the mountains easily. "Whoa! That was close... even closer considering the amount of things that could have gone wrong."

"Huh? I thought it went pretty well."

"Yeah, but if the revolving engines hadn't worked, we could have been mountain pancakes. AND, even though they did work, if the specialized shock resistors hadn't worked, at that speed changing direction that fast...

"Yeah?"

"Try to imaging your brain being torn out of your skull at the speed of sound."

"Well then, it's a good thing it worked then." They both laughed, until Eagle fell silent.

"Hey... look over there." A smile was spreading across his face. One of Eagle's daring smiles. "Black Hole anti-airs... I think we owe them a little payback, don't you?"

"Prepare to fire Eagle!" Once again Black Hole was caught off-guard.

"You know, I really don't see the point in staying out here. Those two COs are dead as doornails."

"Stop complaining, it's a cushy job. All we have to do is sit here, and there's absolutely no chance we'll come under fire."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." ...How ironic.

"Direct hit Sensei!"

"And just think. You would have stood no chance if my copter wasn't part of this thing. Your jet can't fire on the ground."

"Well you're copter can't sneak up as fast as... why are we arguing?"

"Heh, because the race isn't over. We have to make it out of here. Are you ready? There are sure to be more of them."

"Speak of the devil." Sure enough, more anti-airs could be seen as they flew. These ones had been warned though.

"Open fire! They won't fly out alive!" Anti-air missiles were spiraling from all over the mountain peaks at this single air unit. Fancy handwork on Sensei's part far surpassed them all though. It dodged, ducked, rolled, and parried, avoiding a hit from a single missile.

"Take this!" Eagle was showing some skill of his own, as he showered missiles and gunfire upon the assaulting Black Hole units.

"Eagle, we're almost out. See if you can contact Sonja." Eagle was on the radio at once.

"Sonja! Sonja can you hear me?" Sure enough, in a few seconds, Sonja's voice was coming through loud and clear.

"Hello? Eagle? Are you there?"

"Yes Sonja, it's me!"

"Where are you guys? We've reached the other side of the mountains, and there's no sign of either of you!"

"Yeah, well we ran into some... obstacles. Anyway, we're coming and we'll be back with you guys soon!"

"Oh, alright. But hurry! We can't wait around!"

"Will do! Eagle out!" Eagle put down he receiver, and looked up to see the biggest challenge yet. They had reached the outskirts of the mountains; only a few more peaks to go. However, there waiting for them, lined up all across the rocks, were an entire squadron of anti-airs. Eagle noticed something else too. They had flown into a circle of mountains, and there were now anti-airs behind them too. They were surrounded.

"I know things already look bad, so I suppose this is a bad time to tell you this, but look." Sensei pointed at the fuel gauge. It was almost empty.

"Wow... completely surrounded... low supply of fuel... and it also looks like we're running out of ammo... nice odds! Now let's get back to our friends!" Sensei nodded, and jerked the unit to the side as a missile narrowly missed them.

"Hold on Eagle! I think I know a way to beat these guys! We have a low supply of ammo... so let's use THEIR ammo against them!" Eagle understood and strapped in. Sensei slowly descended until they were level with the anti-airs.

"Those fools! They're only making it easier! Fire at will and destroy them once and for all!" A torrent of missiles flew straight at Eagle and Sensei. Just before impact, Sensei flicked a switch, causing them to shoot straight up. A few of the missiles collided, causing them to explode, but this wasn't the plan. What happened next was. While a few may have blown up, the rest continued flying, hitting the anti-airs opposite them, and taking out most of the opposition. With only a few left, victory came easily.

"Heh..." Eagle smirked. "...take this amateurs!" Emptying out the remaining missiles, Eagle destroyed the remaining Black Hole anti-airs. "Got them! We did it old man! We won!"

"Calm down Eagle! Heh heh, you're right though, we DID win. Well, now that that's done with, we should get back to the others and refuel our... our..."

"What? What's wrong?" Sensei looked deep in thought.

"We never came up with a name for this thing, did we?" Eagle shook his head. Sensei shrugged and began flight toward the dots that he could see to be Sonja and the others. Suddenly, Eagle snapped his fingers.

"I've got it. Everything we just accomplished... well by a normal person's standards, it would be impossible."

"So? What's your point?" Eagle smiled.

"Doing the impossible... let's call it Miracle Wings." Sensei thought for a few seconds.

"Miracle Wings... the combined works of Green Earth and Yellow Comet... I like it!"

"Miracle Wings it is then." The two laughed, as they made their approach toward the rest of their soldiers.

Well, like I said, I should probably start writing these little follow-up things everyone else writes. I'm not a conformist by nature, but I do love reviews, so I'll make an exception. Please review! I'm basically going day by day here, and I'd love some input on what you guys want for the future in this story. I know what I want later, but I need something to fill the gap during the journeys of BM, GE, and YC on their way to OS.


	11. A note from the author

Sorry everyone,

I've been getting some e-mails about being slow to update. I'm not going to complain and say they weren't fair complaints (I know I'm a bit of a procrastinator). In my defense though, my computer has always been a little off, and it finally crashed not long ago. 3 weeks and a few part replacements later, here I am typing again. The computer is better than ever now, and that means I shouldn't have any problems updating. I'm working on chapter 10, and I'm hoping to get it done by this weekend, but I only finished the repairs on my computer yesterday, and I'll be a little busy reinstalling stuff, so you might have to wait another week (Besides, my Lord of The Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth arrived a few days ago, and like any other red-blooded American otaku gamer, I'm itching to master it ). Also, if you have any requests about the story, I could always use some feedback. It won't necessarily go into the story, but you never know. Just e-mail me your thoughts on it at Thanks for being patient everyone!

L33TL0rd


	12. Chapter 10: Olaf's Story

Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum

Chapter 10: Olaf's Story

Max was on a roll. As his neotanks closed in on what was left of Andy's soldiers, he grinned.

"Nice try Andy, but it looks like I win this one. FIRE!" All the neotanks fired, decimating Andy and his small group of infantry. As smoke began rising from the spot, Max laughed. "He should have known better than to try to match me with tanks! I'm unbeatable on land!" Max spoke too soon though, as a flurry of missiles suddenly shot from the right, taking out some of his neotanks. "What the!" Before he could react, another round of missiles came, taking out even more of them. Max turned to see Sami's forces shooting at him. "… She just caught me off guard! I'll just make more neotanks, and then-" But he was struck speechless. He had looked to see most of his bases under enemy control, and the remaining ones quickly being captured.

"Max, Max, Max… when are you going to learn that your army won't count for anything if you lose your bases? And who's better at capturing bases than me?" Sami smirked, watching the helpless look on Max's face turn into a smile.

"Heh heh, guess you got me this time Sami. Don't think this is the end though! Next time I'll completely crush-" Once again his words were cut off, except this time it was because missiles had annihilated his neotanks, and him along with them.

"Victory!" Sami cheered as the simulation ended, and the three of them took off their virtual reality helmets. "That's the third time in a row! Man, you guys stink!" Max shook his head and laughed.

"Say what you want, but I wouldn't have lost if Andy hadn't given you a handicap bonus when he was setting up the simulations!"

"Hey, I never did that!" Sami laughed.

"Yeah Max, why would Andy do that? I don't need a bonus to beat you!"

"Oh come on! Your units were doing more damage than normal and you know it. Andy did it in secret because he's in looooove! Right Andy?"

"Wha! I never… I mean, you can't…" Andy fell silent. The only reason he would have denied it just a day ago would have been so Sami didn't know, but as of now, denying it would just complicate things, now that he knew she liked him. Instead, he just looked up at Sami, who was smiling at him. She was so beautiful…

"…uh… Andy? Hellooooooo? Anyone home?" Andy snapped out of his spell.

"Huh? Uh, yeah… yeah I'm fine." All of them stood in silence for a few seconds. Max was about to say something, when Nell came into the room.

"Hello everyone!"

"'Morning Nell! Any news for today?"

"Yes actually. As we speak, Blue Moon approaches from the South! They'll be here in a matter of hours!" Everyone cheered. "Wait wait! That wasn't all of it! Blue Moon is coming from the South, but Black Hole is closing in! They'll be here in about 40 hours.

"What about Green Earth and Yellow Comet Nell?"

"Oh, they're coming too, but they won't get here until mere hours before Black Hole strikes, if we're lucky. In case they don't come in time for the start of the battle though, we need to be prepared for battle! Begin deploying units, and I trust your CO powers are charged up?"

"Mine is! My infantry will capture every base before Black Hole can blink!"

"Mine too! If they deal us damage, I'll be ready to repair our units in 3 seconds flat!"

"Mine is… well… uh…" Max fell silent. The others laughed.

"Start charging it up Max. We could really use the extra power to our tanks." Nell chuckled to herself and left the room.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that…" Max looked embarrassed.

"Don't sweat it Max. Just relax and charge it up now. You've got plenty of time, and it'll go even faster if you keep playing the simulations. After all, Co powers charge up fastest during battle."

"Yeah Andy, you're right. So, ready to go again?"

"Actually I was gonna go start on my units. Also, I want to be out ready to meet Blue Moon when they come."

"Yeah, uh, me too." Andy turned to Sami, and he saw her looking at him hopefully." Max looked back and forth between them, eyebrows raised. He grinned.

"Oh, I get it. Okay, you two go do whatever. I won't interfere in the love-fest." Andy whipped in Max's direction, his face bright red.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Andy looked back at Sami, and he saw that she was blushing too.

"Ha ha ha! Oh, nothing. Tell me how to set this thing up. I'll play against AI versions of a pair of lovebirds I know."

"Okay. All you have to do is… Max!" Max started laughing, and Sami, giggling, grabbed Andy by the back of his shirt and dragged him away from Max and toward the door.

"Don't worry! I'll figure it out!" yelled Max after them as Sami dragged Andy out of the room.

"Stupid Max…" Andy grumbled as they made their way down the hall.

"Forget about it. He was just fooling around. It's not like he knows that we…" Sami fell silent. Andy looked at her.

"That we what?" Sami looked at him.

"Andy… about last night-" Suddenly, a door in front of them swung open, and Nell stepped out. She looked really sad. As she closed the door, she turned and noticed Andy and Sami standing there.

"Oh! Andy! Sami! How are you two doing? Going to start on those units?"

"Yeah… hey Nell. What's wrong? Are you okay?" Nell looked at Sami and smiled weakly.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that… with Blue Moon coming and all… I've been thinking a lot about Grit."

"Oh… yeah…" They all fell silent.

"Hey. Do you think Olaf and Colin will still be broken up about it?"

"Well, I know I still am a little, so, Grit being their fellow CO and friend, I would imagine so." Nell tried to smile. "But we shouldn't let an unfortunate accident get in the way of our preparations! Let's win this war for Grit!" With that, Nell walked past them and down the hall.

"Not accident… murder…" Andy had a bitter tone in his voice.

"I know it's hard Andy, but Nell is right. If we really care about Grit, we should honor his memory by beating Black Hole! Don't you think so?" Andy didn't say anything, but he nodded. Part of him was a little angry at himself, having forgotten about the death while focusing on his new invention. He had been known to forget things when focused on a new project, but this wasn't just anything. Andy felt really bad, and was about to tell Sami about it when suddenly a red light flashed above them, accompanied by a siren.

"Intruders!" Sami ran down the hallway, with Andy following behind.

"WAHOO! Now I'm kicking some serious butt! Look out AI's, here I… huh?" Max was puzzled by the sudden termination of the simulation he had been doing. He stepped out of the virtual reality chamber and saw the red light and heard the siren. "Huh? What's going on?" Nell ran into the room.

"Come on Max! There's an intruder approaching!" Max ran up the stairs behind Nell, and the two of them set off down the hallway. As they reached the reinforced doors to the outside, Nell slipped an access card in and out of a slot quickly, and they opened. Andy and Sami were already outside, watching a single transport unit, accompanied by a few recon units, driving steadily toward them. The units slowed to a halt a few yards away.

"Who's that?"

"No idea Andy. You know who it is Nell?"

"I have a guess, but…" The side hatch of the transport unit opened slowly, and two figures stepped out. One was short, and the other was taller and hardier. Everyone smiled as they saw who it was. Walking directly towards them was none other than Olaf and Colin, big grins on both their faces.

"Well well, look at the welcoming party for us. You all look surprised!"

"Olaf! I'm glad you're here, but we didn't expect you for a few hours. Where's your army?" Nell was puzzled, and the others noticed this too and began wondering.

"Oh, well first of all, my army is still a few hours away from here. As to why I'm here so soon, well we decided the sooner, the better. So, we sent out a few recon units to check for dangers ahead, and when none were found, Colin and I took the fastest transport unit we had over to here. That's not a problem is it?"

"Oh no! We were just surprised!" Olaf looked around at everyone.

"Well, I see the whole gang is here. Andy, Max, Sami, and of course you Nell. So, how have things been going in preparation for Black Hole?"

"Why don't we discuss this inside?" I'll have the lounge ready for us"

"Hey Nell ?"

"Yes Colin?"

"If it's alright with you, we've been traveling a long way, and I'm a little tired. Is it alright if I lie down?"

"Oh, sure! I'll have a bed ready…" As everyone was walking back into the building, Andy and Sami trailed behind. Andy leaned over and whispered to Sami.

"Well, he sure doesn't SEEM broken up." Sami shrugged.

"Maybe he's found a way to cope with it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, Olaf was never much of a waterworks kind of person. He holds it all in, and releases his stress in battle."

"Or on Grit. Remember when he used to yell at him all the time? Grit would never pay much attention." Andy laughed.

"Well, in any case, it's good that they're here. Come on, let's get inside." So, as Blue Moon's units were making their way toward the garage building, Andy, Sami, and all the others entered the base and settled in the lounge. After refreshments had been passed around, Nell and Olaf began discussing.

"So Olaf, how were things on the way here?"

"Well, there were a few bumps along the way, but we made it with virtually no trouble."

"Bumps?" Sami was interested to find out what Olaf had been doing on the way here. "What kinds of bumps?"

"Well, there were a few minor attacks from some Black Hole forces stationed in our path, but we took them out without too much trouble." Nell looked surprised.

"Attacks? Nothing too dangerous right?"

"Well I suppose so. Our first assailants were a bunch of medium tanks. Probably the worst was when we almost got ambushed though." Everyone was interested now. Max voiced what everyone was thinking, and what Andy had been wondering since Olaf's arrival.

"No offense Olaf, but you seem to be in a pretty good mood for somebody who went through all that."

"Yes, I know. I suppose you want to hear the whole story." Everyone nodded.

"Alright, here's what happened…"

"About 2 days ago, Colin and I were still on the move, a little ways from Orange Star. We were fatigued, having weathered 3 minor battles already. We were also running low on fuel, and knew that getting to Orange Star would depend on a straight path with no more battles. Obviously we were worried, because the way things looked, another battle could have broken out at any time. We became most worried though, when we spotted more enemy units up ahead. We knew our only hope of finishing the journey was to keep from wasting any more fuel in a battle, so we halted our units and started to strategize. Finally, we decided on a plan; we would use infantry to lure them closer, until they came within range of our missiles. Everything was going smoothly, and we managed to take out their units as they approached. We thought it was over, but it wasn't. During the short battle, a group of medium tanks that had been hiding in the woods had slowly snuck around, until they were right behind us. This is the ambush I was talking about earlier. Before we could react, the tanks had started a quick charge toward us. We noticed them in time enough to fire, but it did no good. Apparently Black Hole had designed a new type of medium tank. This new model is almost the same as the normal types, except for a few major differences. The first was that they held a lot more ammo. The second was the amount of added armor on each, making them tougher to take down than neotanks, if a little slower, and still lacking in comparison to the amount of damage neo-tanks can do. It also seemed that the design made them easier to make, and in more quantities than neotanks. All these added features came with one price though; the lack of internal room meant that not all of the engine components could still be secured under the armor. On each tank, a few lightly armored fuel lines ran along the side, covered by simple safety glass to ensure no jarring, but so the protection didn't throw off the balance of these metal monsters. This wasn't much of a price though. The lines were very small targets that could only be hit if we either sniped the unarmored connection valves on them, or if we landed a good missile hit and caused the tanks damage enough to destroy the lines from inside the casing. This became a big problem because we had no sniper rifles, and because, despite all our efforts, we barely scratched them with our missiles. Soon we were out of ammo, and we had made minimal progress against the tanks. Slowly they circled around us, playing with us because they knew we couldn't do anything. They played just a little too long though. As they stopped circling, preparing to destroy us for good, a gunshot rang out, and one of them suddenly blew up. Another shot was fired, and yet another tank exploded in a blaze of fiery shrapnel. Shots began going off at a very high speed, and tanks were exploding all over the place. The metal titans began to scatter every which way, but it did them no good. They're heavy armor was their own downfall, because it drastically cut down the speed of their escape. As the last tank was taken out, the shots stopped firing. We were all stunned momentarily by what had just happened, but soon recovered. Colin is developing into quite a CO, and before I could say anything he organized a small recon team to check out the woods where the shots had come from. While the recon team was searching the woods, another team had been organized to examine the wreckages. Sure enough, what was left of the safety glass cases had single bullet holes in them. When the recon team returned, they reported that no-one had been found. All that had turned up were tire tracks from a single off-road motorcycle, headed in the same direction we were going. Colin asked me how anyone could be good enough to snipe such small targets on moving vehicles from that distance, but I didn't answer him. I was too shocked. I simply told him to order everyone to keep moving, reflecting on what I had just realized. It was amazing enough that someone could snipe with that kind of skill, but what was even more astounding was that they hadn't used a sniper rifle. The rate of fire on the gun that I had heard was far too fast to be that of any sniper rifle. It had been a machine gun. What kind of person could pull off such a difficult sniping job using a machine gun as a weapon, when machine guns are suited to much closer range, and aren't designed with scopes for focusing on targets? It was certainly puzzling, but I had more pressing matters to focus on, so I put it aside for later and continued to focus on the journey ahead."

Everyone in the room was silent as Olaf finished his tale. Max was trying to work out how this event had put Olaf in such a good mood. Maybe a content mood, but…

"Anyway, if that answers your question, I'm happy because Colin and I are alive, and because we have a new ally." Nell looked a little skeptical.

"Olaf, we can't be sure the person who saved you is necessarily on our side. He ("Or she!" Sami put in) could be on his own side, and just left you alone because you were basically helpless, being out of ammo and all." Olaf chuckled.

"I guess "new" isn't exactly the right choice of words. The man who saved us is in no way a "new" ally. And by the way Sami, yes he IS a man."

"How do you know? Who is it?" Olaf almost looked surprised.

"I thought it would have been obvious. Only one man has the kind of marksmanship to pull off the stunt I witnessed mere days ago. The one who rescued me, as usual, was Grit." Everyone gasped.

"How could it be Grit! You told me he was…" Olaf nodded.

" I know. I told you he was killed, and he should have been. That's why I didn't tell Colin when I came upon the conclusion that he had survived; I didn't want to get the boy's hopes up. After all, we can't really be truly sure until we see him in flesh and blood." With that, Olaf got up and stretched.

"Wow, is it afternoon already? If it's alright with you, I'd like to turn in early too. As you've heard, it was a long trip here." Nell nodded weakly, and she got up and left the room, with Olaf following behind, chuckling again to himself.

"Good old Grit, stubborn as a mule. He doesn't even expire when he's supposed to…" Only Max, Sami, and Andy remained on the couches, exchanging surprised looks.

"Wow, so Grit's alive."

"We don't know for sure Andy. It might be someone else."

"Yeah, but Olaf was right. Andy, can you honestly think of a sharper eye than Grit?"

"Nope. I still remember that first battle with him a long time ago, when Blue Moon was trying to take over Orange Star. Even then, when we were enemies, he had a sort of care-free air to him. It made you like him when you were supposed to hate him."

"Yeah…" They all fell silent, thinking about Grit, and holding on to the hope that he could be alive.

"Well… uh… I guess we were all busy with things."

"Oh yeah! I still need to kick butt and charge up my CO power. I'll see you two later." Max got up and left. Andy stood up, and so did Sami.

"You know Sami, we may not know for sure, but the fact that it's possible is good enough for me. What about you?" Sami looked at him, and then smiled.

"Yeah it is. Come on, if Grit really is alive, we want him to see us ready and waiting when Black Hole comes." Andy grinned.

"Got that right. Let's get on those units right away. And that's just what they did.


	13. Another note from the author

To my loyal readers,

Figured it would be good to tell everyone (after all it's been like a month since I updated) that I'm going to take a break. It's not that I'm never going to update again, but I've hit a bit of writers block. In complete honesty, I kind of need to recollect where I'll be directing the story. After I've worked out a few chapters, I'll post them, and then everything will be back on track. Until then, please be patient with me, and continue e-mailing me on anything you might want for the story. Thank you everyone for not flaming me to death on the wait, and a special thanks to Fallen Angel X, who is my good friend and a good support when I run out of ideas .

L33TL0rd

P.S. I'm already working on chapter 11, which is the beginning of the bridge between the calm of the story and the real war at hand. That's right, it took me 11 chapters before I began getting close to the good part ;


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